L.A. Lakers: The Rich Keep on Getting Richer

by Sean Heffernan 

When Danny Ainge's masterpiece trade for Kevin Garnett and Jesus Biggelsworth (Ray Allen) turned the Boston Celtics from perennial loser to NBA Champion in a single year a new standard was set for NBA GM's to reach for the miracle move. ... This offseason has seen Shaq join Lebron in Cleveland, Vince Carter bolster the Orlando Magic's offense, former All Star Richard Jefferson head south to San Antonio,and Rasheed Wallace become Ainge's fourth amigo in Boston. Teams are feeling the pressure that they must wheel and deal if they want to have any chance at all to compete with the rest of the league.

One of the great things about American sports is the possibility that before each season you never never know if this year will be your team's year. Before last season, Arizona Cardinals fans certainly weren't poised for a Super Bowl run, but it happened. The Chicago White Sox surprised everyone when they won the World Series in 2005 without a single bonafide star player. The improbable in sports is what makes us watch.
 
Take for example European soccer. Most of the leagues in Europe are dominated by a few mega-rich teams year in and year out because they don't abide by a salary cap of any kind. In the English Premier League for example the same four teams (Chelsea, Manchester United, Liverpool, and Arsenal) finish in the top four almost every year. The rest of the clubs don't stand a chance unless they run into a couple hundred million dollars somewhere. Perhaps the same standard can't be held to European football because unlike American sports there are soccer leagues in every country in the world, but still something is lost in the predictability of it all.

 The NBA's offseason is far from over with big names like Carlos Boozer and Allen Iverson likely still to be on the move before all is said and done. In only a few months the gap between the Celtics, Lakers, Spurs, Cavs, Magic and the rest of league has grown significantly. The level of play when these teams collide next year in the playoffs might be off the charts, but is this the best thing for the NBA? Who's going to want to watch the Memphis Grizzlies play the Indiana Pacers next year?

 The NBA did lower their salary cap to cope with the suffering economic market, but they can't stop teams from pooling the league's best talent together. This trend is only gaining steam with the recent trades around the league. The rise of the NBA superteams could reach a fever pitch with all the superstar free agents available in 2010. When will it end? Is it the best thing for basketball? Share your thoughts below in the comments section.

The Headline

Roger Federer won his 15th major yesterday by defeating Andy Roddick in an amazing match. A 16-14 5th set won it for Federer and left Roddick with yet another gut check loss. ...

It really looked like Roddick was going to pull it out, too. The turning point, though, came in the 2nd set when Roddick had 3 unforced errors allowing Federer to win 16 straight points to clinch the 2nd set.

Roddick was good enough to win yesterday; in fact, Roddick should have won. But in the end it was Federer, much the same way the Yankees win so many playoff series, and his audience of Pete Sampras and Bjorn Borg that were too much for Roddick to handle.

I'd love to see Andy Roddick bounce back in the US Open. It might just be enough to rouse the American fans' interest in tennis reminiscent of the Jim Courier, Andre Aggasi, Pete Sampras days.

Manny's Back!

Amazing what a 50 day absence will do to a man.

Can anybody else remember Manny Ramirez digging hard enough on a grounder to make it a close play at first let alone having reason to argue with the umpire?

Hopefully, this is a new leaf for Manny. The biggest story about Manny from last week stopped being how he's a major attraction in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and turned into "Why is Manny Getting a Free Pass from the Fans?"

Maybe because the press has been giving Manny a free pass since he was picked off of first base, while still in his pre-dreads Cleveland Indians days, by Javy Lopez in the 1995 World Series. For the last 15 years, it's all come down to "Manny Being Manny". The beat writers, the commentators, the ESPN achors all let it boil down to "Manny Being Manny."

So where does this leave everything as of the free pass on steroids? It leaves us here: Manny's an asshole. And we know it. A complete and total douchebag that can flat out rake. Also worth noting that his team proved it's the best team in baseball without Manny Ramirez. When a team's winning, there's really not a whole lot to complain about.

So Manny's a d-bag and the Dodgers are solid top to bottom. Agreed? Muy Bien.

Rasheed Wallace Agrees to Sign with the Celtics & Jason Kidd Promises to Sign with the Mavericks.

Perfect. And both teams are eligible for tax cuts because they support more Baby Boomers than social security.

Celtics are still the 3rd best team in the East and will be out of the playoffs in the first round.

Mavericks lost relevancy 2 years ago.

Now THAT'S how you run a franchise.

Let's Talk About Shock Value

Steve McNair's death is officially ruled a homicide.

Now THIS is shocking. A quiet, soft-spoken NFL quarterback never linked to anything even remotely foul took two the head and two more to the chest.

Over the last week and a half, people have been stating their states of shock over the death of Michael Jackson. MJ's death doesn't even compare to Steve McNair's death in terms of shock.

How could anything Michael Jackson did, including death, after 1994 serve as shocking? You could have told me anything about Michael Jackson--literally, anything--and I would not have been shocked. He was easily the craziest person not accused of being a serial killer of the 20th century.

Possible MJ Scenarios that Wouldn't have Shocked Me:

1.) Michael Jackson's joining the preisthood.
2.) Michael Jackson's attemtping to adopt a baby from Nigeria.
3.) Michael Jackson's joingin the priesthood and then adopting a baby fron Nigeria.

Throw in the fact that found next to Steve McNair was his mistress. Sure, it's assumed that professional athletes all have one or two extra women on the side, but to have both pro athlete and his mistress executed mafia style? Now THAT'S crazy.

And as of 11:07 AM today, Nobody's uttered a word about it.

Crazier than pretty much anything Michael Jackson ever did.